In the world of professional boxing, Puerto Rico is one of the most decorated countries of all time. With a long list of former world champions like Héctor "Macho" Camacho, Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto, and legends such as Wilfredo Gomez Rivera and Carlos Ortiz, boxing has produced more homegrown champions than any other sport on the Island. Despite the ever-growing legacy of the most accomplished Boricua boxers, the prestigious label of "undisputed" champion (in a single-weight division) eluded the group until Saturday night when Amanda "The Real Deal" Serrano (the WBO Female Boxer of the Year in 2016 and 2018) defeated Erika Cruz (15-2) in 10 rounds to become the undisputed featherweight champion. Prior to the showdown at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City, Amanda walked into the ring as the WBO, IBF, and WBC featherweight title holder, while her opponent entered the bout as the WBA champion. At the conclusion of her history-making victory over Cruz, Amanda (41-2-1) was overcome with emotion as tears flowed from her eyes.
"I’m just so emotional underneath," Serrano said. "I finally did it for my island. She’s a Mexican champion, and we knew that from the start. I knew it was going to be a bout and this what I’ve trained for. We didn’t expect anything less than that. I’m glad it went past the fourth [round]! Jordan kept screaming 1-2-1-2’s from the corner, go back to the basics. My left hand was catching her pretty clear with the jabs. So I just listen to my corner. I have successfully completed all of my dreams, becoming the undisputed champion...So now I am one of the undisputed champions, but I am still the only seven-weight-class world champion in the world."
Although the accomplishment for the southpaw is monumental, she will have very little time to celebrate as a rematch against the undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor (22-0) has already been scheduled for May 20th. Last April, Katie defeated Amanda in an epic New York City battle that went on to be crowned the "Sporting News Fight of the Year." This time around, Amanda will travel to Katie's native country of Ireland in hopes of avenging her loss.
Source: MSN
